Popsicles and Promises
by anicol
Summary: Shisui and a young Sasuke bond over popsicles and a chakra trick. One-shot.


_Just a quick little something - experimenting with dialogue._

* * *

"Do you think niisan will be home soon, itoko?"

Sasuke's plaintive voice popped Shisui's late-afternoon reverie like a soap bubble. He shifted his weight so he was seated more comfortably on the porch steps and turned his head to look at his little cousin.

"I hope so, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke gave the popsicle he was holding a thoughtful lick. It was approaching late June and the longest day of the year, the air heavy and humid with suppressed moisture. There would likely be a thunder storm that night, Shisui thought, rubbing absently at the scarlet tattoo on his left shoulder. He rocked back on his hands and watched Sasuke's popsicle melt ribbons of orange-colored juice between the boy's fingers.

"He's going to teach me a chakra trick. When he gets back."

Shisui smiled, a slight twist of the lips at one corner. "Is he now. Which trick?"

Sasuke shrugged, small shoulders hitching exaggeratedly up towards his ears and back down again. "I don't know. A trick." He nodded to emphasize his obvious answer and took an impatient bite out of his quickly dissolving popsicle. The remainder of the frozen treat slid off its wooden stick and hit the porch step between Sasuke's sandals with a wet slap.

Shisui chuckled at the dismayed expression on his cousin's face. "Should've eaten it faster," he teased, and ruffled Sasuke's already untidy hair with one broad hand. Sasuke scowled, his bottom lip jutting out in a perfect five-year old pout, and reached up to swat away the hand assaulting his hair.

"Uh uh uh." Shisui caught Sasuke's wrist gently and tugged his hand down, turning his palm over. "Your hands're all sticky. Go wash them off. Mikoto-obasan would kill me if I let you get popsicle goo in your hair. Or anywhere else, for that matter." He looked pointedly at the sticky mess around Sasuke's mouth.

Sasuke's scowl turned downright stormy. He huffed a loud sigh and stood, stomping his way up the porch steps and towards the open door leading into the house.

"On second thought..." Shisui turned and beckoned Sasuke back towards him. "I've got an idea. Go stand over there." He pointed towards a patch of lawn just beyond the shade of the porch, bright sunlight snagging deepening shadows. Sasuke twisted around and sulked over to the spot. He glowered up at Shisui. "It's hooooot," he whined, Shisui's shadow looming over him. His older cousin was very tall, almost taller than tousan.

"I know it's hot. Hands over your head," Shisui commanded. Sasuke obeyed, thrusting sticky palms into the air. Even with arms upraised, he barely reached Shisui's navel.

"Good. Now reach for the skkkyyyy." He dragged the last syllable, drawling in an imitation of an old Western he'd seen at the theater once. Ten stubby fingers stretched for the cloudless blue vault above them, wiggling in their effort to reach higher. Shisui smirked and gathered raw chakra in his hands, funneling it to his fingertips to mix with elemental water drawn from the humid air. "Are you ready?"

"For what?" Sasuke asked, squinting at Shisui with a quizzical look.

"For this!" A stiff spray of cold water sprung from Shisui's palms, instantly soaking Sasuke. The small boy squawked with surprise, then dissolved into peals of delighted giggles that echoed off the house eaves as he attempted to dance away from Shisui's questing aim. Shisui chased him through the grass and around his aunt's colorful flowerbeds, laughing in a burnished baritone and directing his palms at Sasuke's ankles and shoulders like water from a hose, until he finally caught the shrieking boy around the middle, tossing him into the air to catch him seconds later in the firm net of his arms.

"Did you like _my _trick?" Shisui asked, tickling his cousin's ribcage. Sasuke nodded and chortled into Shisui's shoulder, cheeks flushed and eyes bright. Water droplets clung to his eyelashes, sparkling in the sunlight. Shisui remembered fondly when Itachi was this small and they would run barefoot through the sprinklers, misty rainbows shimmering in the summer heat. Itachi was barely older now than Shisui had been then, but much more absent. That's why Shisui had been eager to watch Sasuke for the afternoon while his aunt ran errands. Sasuke was very different from his older brother, but Shisui still had a certain soft spot for his youngest cousin. The kid was cute. And he eased a little of the bitter grief Shisui felt everytime he looked at Itachi these days.

Sasuke seemed to recognize the slight melancholy that shaded Shisui's eyes. He buried his face in Shisui's neck, damp hair brushing against Shisui's jawline. "I love you, itoko," he mumbled shyly. Shisui stiffened slightly as small arms wrapped tightly around his neck, then relaxed, smiling softly. That was unexpected. He rubbed a calloused hand over the stacked column of Sasuke's spine. "I love you too, Sasuke-kun." The words came out husky, roughened by some emotion Shisui couldn't quite name.

After a moment, Sasuke leaned back, dark eyes solemnly searching his cousin's. All the Uchiha had the same eyes, but some saw more than others. Shisui glanced away and paused to shake off the clinging cobwebs of bitter memories, then grinned and tweaked Sasuke's nose before setting him back on the ground. Sandaled feet hit the grass with a soft whump. "Come on, let's go inside and get you cleaned up."

A small hand slid into Shisui's as they wandered back towards the house. "When niisan comes back, you should teach him your trick!"

Shisui snorted. "Sure." They climbed the porch steps, Sasuke bouncing up them like a miniature pogo stick.

"And then you can teach it to me!"

Shisui glanced down at Sasuke. The younger's boy's face was hopeful. He smiled. "Of course."

"Promise?"

Shisui chuckled. "I promise."


End file.
